This article contains spoilers from Hawkeye's final episodes “Ronin” and “So, This is Christmas?”
To see Kingpin popping up in Episodes 5 and 6 of Hawkeye was shocking yet anticipated at the same time. Everything surrounding the big bad's arrival had been building up since Episode 3, and thankfully, Vincent D’Onofrio was able to reprise the role once again. But there was a conscious effort to differentiate the mobster from his specific Daredevil depiction. According to Hawkeye’s costume designer, D’Onofrio wanted to change the character's appearance in a subtle yet important way.
The Daredevil alum brought the menacing persona to the MCU, but with a fresh look for the usually dapper Marvel supervillain. Hawkeye wardrobe stylist Michael Crow facilitated that change. Crow revealed he only had a few days to get costumes together for D’Onofrio, as his involvement was kept top secret until midway through filming. The costume designer recalled to Insider how Wilson Fisk’s wardrobe became a collaboration between him and the actor.
Vincent was integral in creating the character and a lot of the ideas stemmed from what he wanted to do with the character and you know, things that he had always wanted to take directions. He wanted to approach the character as a little more like down and out and grittier than he had previously been presented in the other show.
Compared to seeing Fisk’s infamously meticulous closet in Daredevil, the Hawkeye version did come off as a down-on-his-luck mobster. Pairing the comic-sourced Hawaiian shirt with a tailored suit marked a downgrade from his all-business approach in the Netflix series. Whether he was meeting Eleanor Bishop or fighting Clint Barton, Kingpin sported the same look.
With Marvel’s infamous code of secrecy, it didn’t leave much room for Crow to consult with D’Onofrio. The wardrobe stylist admitted to doing viral fittings with the Daredevil star as the actor was filming another project at the time. Initially, Michael Crow was kept in the dark about Vincent D’Onofrio’s appearance. The original scripts had another Marvel villain noted as the big bad for the miniseries. That was until Crow started asking about costumes for the character, leading to producer Trinh Tran revealing it was a decoy.
Vincent D’Onofrio didn’t help matters either. As viewers started getting hot on his trail and peppering his social media with questions, the Law and Order: Criminal Intent alum kept denying his involvement in Hawkeye in ways that still honored the role of Wilson Fisk. He even championed Charlie Cox’s official MCU debut while having fun dodging those Hawkeye rumors. Having advocated for Matt Murdock’s return, it wasn’t too far of a stretch to see him pop up in the final two episodes. Now, there might be some inevitable connection between Hawkeye and the blind legal eagle.
Only time will tell if Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will pop up again in the MCU. Until there’s official word, you can watch him cause trouble for Kate Bishop and Clint Barton all over again by streaming Hawkeye on Disney+.
